The case of Shamima Begum stands in contrast to my father’s treatment in 1945 (Shamima Begum: supreme court refuses to hear UK citizenship appeal, 7 August). Like her, my father was about 16 when he went to Germany in early 1939. He went because he had been exposed to pro-fascist propaganda from his mother, together with her circle of friends.
Unlike Begum, he did, albeit briefly, actively support the regime by giving a few radio broadcasts alongside William Joyce. My father’s infatuation with the Third Reich waned after the fall of Paris, but he was stuck and had to live with the consequences of his teenage choice for the rest of the war, which meant being incarcerated by the Gestapo and finally placed in a camp in Italy.
